Silent Witness

When seventeen-year-old Tony Lord was accused of the murder of Alison Taylor, his friends turned against him. Now he is a San Francisco lawyer dedicated to the defense of his clients, but his new client is one of those fair-weather friends...and he is suspected of murdering of a female student. Tony must confront not only the fear that his friend is a murderer, but the buried truths that underlie Alison's death so long ago.

Fall from Grace: A Novel

The mysterious, violent death of a prominent New England patriarch exposes a nest of dark family secrets in bestselling author Richard North Patterson’s twentieth compelling novel. Adam Blaine arrives on the island of Martha’s Vineyard to attend the funeral of his estranged father, Ben Blaine, a famous and charismatic writer who has served as patriarch of his clan for many years.

Exile

David Wolfe is an ambitious former homicide prosecutor who is planning to run for Congress. A political dinner for the Israeli Prime Minister is hosted by his current girlfriend, Carole Shorr, a liberal supporter of both the Palestinian and Israeli causes. But when David receives a call from Hana Ashawi, a Palestinian woman who was David's classmate at Harvard Law School, he is rattled. Hana was more than a peer - she was his lover.

The Good Lawyer: A Novel

A young, ambitious lawyer is eager to prove he is better than the mobster dominated family he grew up in. Working as a Bronx Legal Aid attorney he learns how to become an unbeatable defense lawyer. But it's 1982. The Spiderman rapist is on the loose and New York City is a city in fear. When an outraged victim commits suicide right before his eyes, searching for absolution and determined to prove his client's innocence, he knocks the pegs out from under the prosecution's case.

Stephani says:"Great Book. Found a new author that I'm looking forward to future Novels"

No Safe Place

When it comes to presidential campaigns, fiction can be more thrilling than truth. Such is the case in the extraordinary story of high-stakes presidential politics told in Richard North Patterson's No Safe Place. Browse more Patterson.

To Speak for the Dead: Jake Lassiter, Book 1

Defending a surgeon in a malpractice case, Jake Lassiter begins to suspect that his client is innocent of negligence...but guilty of murder. Add a sexy widow, a deadly drug, and a grave robbery to the stew, and you have Miami's trial of the century.

A Criminal Defense

When a young reporter is found dead and a prominent Philadelphia businessman is accused of her murder, Mick McFarland finds himself involved in the case of his life. The defendant, David Hanson, is Mick's best friend, and the victim, a TV news reporter, had reached out to Mick for legal help only hours before her death. Mick's played both sides of Philadelphia's courtrooms. As a top-shelf defense attorney and former prosecutor, he knows all the tricks of the trade. And he'll need every one of them to win.

Meet Mike Daley. Ex-priest. Ex-public defender. And as of yesterday, ex-partner in one of San Francisco's most prominent law firms. Today he's out on his own, setting up practice on the wrong side of town. Then his best friend and former colleague is charged with a brutal double murder, and Daley is instantly catapulted into a high-profile investigation involving the prestigious law firm that just booted him. As he prepares his case, Daley uncovers the firm's dirtiest secrets.

Justice Redeemed

Two years ago, Darren Street made a name for himself as the man who rooted out corruption in the district attorney's office. Now the hotheaded young lawyer is in the public eye yet again - this time, accused of murder. Jalen Jordan retained Street for what seemed to be a minor traffic violation, but when evidence turned up linking Jordan to the death of two boys, Street wanted out of the case.

The Professor: McMurtrie and Drake Legal, Book 1

Law professor Thomas Jackson McMurtrie literally wrote the book on evidence in the state of Alabama. But when a power-hungry colleague uses a recent run-in between McMurtrie and headstrong student Rick Drake to end his career, he is left unsure what to do next.

Felony Murder

On the surface, the court-appointed case that lands on young Dean Abernathy's desk is a biggie; he is slated to defend a homeless man accused of the felony murder of the popular black New York City Police commissioner during an early-morning mugging attempt. But at second look, the case promises to be a routine conviction. The evidence is overwhelming.

The Verdict

Terry Flynt is a struggling legal clerk desperately trying to get promoted when he is given the biggest opportunity of his career: to help defend a millionaire accused of murdering a woman in his hotel suite. The only problem is that the accused man, Vernon James, is not only someone he knows but someone he loathes. This case could potentially make Terry's career, but how can he defend a former friend who betrayed him?

The Black Book

Billy Harney was born to be a cop. The son of Chicago's chief of detectives, whose twin sister is also on the force, Billy plays it by the book. Alongside Detective Kate Fenton, Billy's tempestuous, adrenaline-junkie partner, there's nothing he wouldn't sacrifice for his job. Enter Amy Lentini, a hard-charging assistant state's attorney hell-bent on making a name for herself - who suspects Billy isn't the cop he claims to be. They're about to be linked by more than their careers.

The Advocate's Daughter: A Thriller

A Washington, DC, lawyer and a frequent major media commentator on the Supreme Court, Anthony Franze delivers a high-stakes story of family, power, loss, and revenge set within the insular world of the highest court of our country. Among Washington, DC, power players, everyone has secrets they desperately want to keep hidden, including Sean Serrat, a Supreme Court lawyer. Sean transformed his misspent youth into a model adulthood and now has one of the most respected legal careers in the country.

The Spire

Mark Darrow grew up in a small Ohio town with no real advantages beyond his intelligence and athletic ability. But thanks to the intervention of Lionel Farr - a professor at Caldwell, the local college - Darrow became an excellent student and, later, a superb trial lawyer. Now Farr asks his still-youthful protégé for a life-altering favor. An embezzlement scandal has threatened Caldwell's very existence - would Darrow consider becoming its new president?

Eclipse

The spellbinding story of an American lawyer who takes on a nearly impossible case - the defense of an African freedom fighter against his corrupt government's charge of murder. Damon Pierce's life has just reached a defining moment: a gifted California lawyer, he's being divorced by his wife and his work often seems soulless. Then he receives a frantic e-mail from Marissa Brand Okari - a woman he loved years ago - and decides to risk everything to respond to her plea for help.

Cash City

It is an obsession that has haunted Nick Malick for seven years - to avenge the murder of his young son. In his gut Malick knows who did it. But the psychopath is in prison for another crime, scheduled to be released in a year. All Malick has to do is wait...and survive.

Camino Island: A Novel

Priceless F. Scott Fitzgerald manuscripts stolen in a daring heist; a young woman recruited to recover them, and a beach-resort bookseller who gets more than he bargained for - all in one long summer on Camino Island.

Dead Certain: A Novel

Ella Broden is living a double life. By day, Ella works as a buttoned-up attorney on some of the city's most grueling cases. By night, she pursues her passion for singing in the darkest clubs of Manhattan. No one knows her secret, not even Charlotte, the younger sister she practically raised. But it seems she's not the only one in the family with something to hide. When Charlotte announces she's sold her first novel, Ella couldn't be more thrilled...until she gets a call that her sister's gone missing.

Burnout: Jessie Black Legal Thriller Series, Book 1

Jessie Black's successful prosecution of a serial murderer and rapist put her on the path to stardom at the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office. Public defender Jack Ackerman represented the opposition, and his spectacular public breakdown after the trial put him in a mental institution and gave Frank Ramsey a second chance at freedom. When Ramsey petitions the court for a new trial with a claim that Ackerman was ineffective, Black must step up to defend him.

Beach Lawyer

After five grueling years, Robert Worth is just days away from making partner at a powerful Santa Monica law firm. When a client confides in him that senior partner Jack Pierce sexually assaulted her, Robert breaks two of his mentor's cardinal rules: Never let yourself get emotional about clients. And never make an enemy of Jack Pierce. Robert crosses Pierce and is fired on the spot, losing not only his job but also his reputation. Advised to go quietly, Robert vows revenge against the ruthless man who betrayed him.

The Late Show

Renée Ballard works the night shift in Hollywood, beginning many investigations but finishing none, as each morning she turns her cases over to day shift detectives. A once up-and-coming detective, she's been given this beat as punishment after filing a sexual harassment complaint against a supervisor. But one night she catches two cases she doesn't want to part with: the brutal beating of a prostitute left for dead in a parking lot and the killing of a young woman in a nightclub shooting. Ballard is determined not to give up at dawn.

The Black Echo: Harry Bosch Series, Book 1

For LAPD homicide cop Harry Bosch - hero, maverick, nighthawk - the body in the drainpipe at Mulholland Dam is more than another anonymous statistic. This one is personal. The dead man, Billy Meadows, was a fellow Vietnam "tunnel rat" who fought side by side with him in a nightmare underground war that brought them to the depths of hell.

Publisher's Summary

Christopher Paget is a trial lawyer with a famous past. As a young investigator he brought down a president. It cost him his relationship with Mary Carelli. Fifteen years have passed while Paget raises their son, seeking privacy. Until a murder changes everything.

Now a television journalist, Mary is charged in an eminent novelist's death. Her defense is attempted rape, and she wants Paget to defend her. But a fateful question remains: was it self-defense...or murder?

This is a good book. It is well written and read. The characters are intense and the relationships handled in the story complex. The plot dwells around rape and sexual abuse, but the book is also about the way multiple relationships function while handling complex issues. There are powerful husband-wife, son-father, girlfriends, friends and more relationships scenes in the book that may touch you. And, yes there is a super plot full of suspense and excellent courtroom drama with an intelligent judge who became one of my favorite characters in the book. Who, why, how did it question in the book makes it even more gripping.

It is a classic thriller that provided me with a great time!
Let not the size of the book nor the year of publication give you second thoughts?download now and you will not be disappointed.

There must have been a book prior to this one that contains the story between Christopher Paget and Mary Carelli and I didn't read it. I kept feeling like I was missing some information. I kept having to fill in the blanks with what I thought must have happened.

Ignore the naysayers -- this is an outstanding novel featuring an engrossing court room drama. The story is lengthy but superb in terms of characters, legal drama and pace. Some say it needed a different/better narrator, but I appreciated Adams' performance because it did not get in the way of the story. He simply told it, using a minimum of different voices. If you are a fan of legal/court room dramas, this is a must read. Patterson truly nailed it.

"Degree of Guilt" verges on pornography, at times -- actually, lots of times -- however, only a disturbed person could find any titillation in the porn depicted here. This extraordinary novel might offend many people; and I would advise anyone with delicate or devout sensibilities to bypass this audiobook. It concerns perverted, sick, non-romantic sex. Surprisingly, Richard North Patterson does a commendable, reasonably accurate job of portraying this distasteful subject from a woman's point of view -- or, rather, from the viewpoint of several abused women. I would never label "Degree of Guilt" a pleasant read -- definitely not fun escape-fiction -- but it remains timely, pertinent, and important, even despite its old publication date. This audiobook will make you think. It has an intricate, well-crafted plot, in which Patterson gradually unfolds needed backstory with intermittent flashbacks, while skillfully developing each of the intriguing characters. I have two minor complaints with this audiobook. First, I didn't like the choice of reader: Alexander Adams has an unpleasant voice, reads too fast, and doesn't distinguish the characters from one another adequately. Clearly, this novel should have been read by a top female actor, like Barbara Rosenblat, for instance. Secondly, I cite my pet production peeve: bookmarks too far apart. Audible set the bookmarks almost one hour apart, with no reference to logical chapter, paragraph, or sentence breaks. I suspect that Audible may have corrected this problem in more recent offerings; but this audiobook was published a long time ago, when someone had the aesthetic of making the bookmarks look evenly-spaced on one's iPod. Otherwise, I recommend "Degree of Guilt" to anyone who can appreciate a legal drama with a serious, unpleasant topic.

Severely misrepresented as an extraordinary courtroom novel. Rather, it is simply repeated, detailed sexual encounters cloaked in an adjudication veil. Courtroom strategy is a minute part of the story (and is also dominated by vivid sexual descriptions). This is junk writing complete with grammatical errors.

Would you ever listen to anything by Richard North Patterson again?

Absolutely not. I started with another and stopped early on hoping my initial choice was bad.

Of all the writers of courtroom procedurals, Richard North Patterson is my favorite. He creates characters that live and breathe. His plots are complex and his storylines have wonderful twists and turns,. I've read this one twice now and will probably read it again. It's got great pacing, believable dialogue, enough complexity to keep you guessing. It was just as enjoyable the second time around as it was the first. It's a long book that you wind up wishing were even longer! A winner on all fronts.

Richard North Patterson writes good books-- plain and simple. This is my second of his and I can see that it won't be the last. As you listen, you find that you REALLY CARE about the characters, the plot, and what happens. The action is realistic yet exciting. The plot involves both love and sex at times, yet is never sappy or sleazy. The plot twists are genuine. Enjoy this book!

This was a very good book, with outstanding naration. It is read in three parts. The first two are very moving, and you will not want to stop listening. The last part was a little difficult to get through, and became a bit predictable.

I would definately recomend it, and you will be glad you gave it a listen

I waited a couple of weeks after finishing the book to let it settle before reviewing . . . not that the world waits for my reviews. Christopher Paget, the main character in the story, has overcome much and is a good man worth knowing. That said, I would warn any reader that this book seems to belong in Penthouse or the like! I do NOT condone violence perpetrated on women, especially rape . . . nor have I ever been tempted to do so. However, the author could have denounced same without mentioning penis, erection & and penetration dozens of times to the point of ad nauseum! Not many reviews posted here on Degree of Guilt for the time that it has been out. Perhaps this is why. Listener take heed, this book is not for everyone. It is not that I am a prude or have no sympathy for abused women. It is simply that RNP seemed a tad sophomoric with his continuous use of these words and phrases . . . as if it pleased him to be able to do so.

I was totally blown away with RNP's "Exile" and had high hopes for Degree of Guilt. The plot was good and it wove a nice story that COULD have been less in spots to have ended up more! It was all I could do to finish it. In fact, that goal became a chore!

I really loved this intelligent novel - Crime and passion and clever lawyers! Keeps you wondering to the end! Wonderfully read!It is the first of this authors books that I have listened to, I will definitely try his others.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Elizabeth Davies

7/19/10

Overall

"Superb"

.... on every level. Well crafted and narrated. This is an exceptional 'listen' I will look out for this author and narrator again. Brilliant !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

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